Nobuhiko Komaki

Abstract Capsicum peppers are among the oldest domesticated crops in the Americas. Columbus introduced them to Europe, from where they spread to the Far East via Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. However, the details of how Capsicum peppers were introduced into the Asia–Pacific region and their subsequent dispersal remain unknown. Therefore, we investigated the genetic diversity and relationships of Capsicum frutescens in the Asia–Pacific region through restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) and the sequencing of a variable chloroplast genome locus. The RAD-seq analysis showed that three accessions from Japan are most closely related to those from the Americas and Micronesia, and are distant from most of those from islands and continental Southeast Asia. Although C. frutescens has two chloroplast haplotypes (T and TC), only the T type was found in the Americas and Japan, whereas both types were distributed in other regions. Therefore, we postulate that some C. frutescens accessions were introduced into the Asia–Pacific region from the Americas via the Pacific dispersal route, whereas only the T type was introduced into Japan. Evidence for this Pacific dispersal route of C. frutescens could lead to a reconsideration of the dispersal routes of other crops native to the Americas.

In the context of an increasing focus on the multifaceted functions of agriculture and rural areas, this paper focuses on community-based agriculture and aims to demonstrate the potential for agricultural regional classification in modern Japan from the perspective of maintaining farmland and local communities. We examine indicators based on the conditions and roles of community farming in municipalities, and categorize and classify the agricultural regions using a multivariate analysis method. As a result, we derive regional typologies and geographical classifications. The results show that there are two underlying factors influencing community-based agriculture: (1) regional characteristics, such as the type of agriculture, particularly the presence or absence of traditional rice-based agriculture, and (2) the policies of the prefectural government. We find that the management of local communities and farmland is active in areas that practice traditional farming, but that community-based farming activities are influenced by various related policies, as community farming is policy driven in nature.

This study first reviewed previous literature on 1) the residential environments and everyday lives of older adults to examine universal factors enabling aging-in-place initiatives, and 2) the generation and outcomes of aging and shrinking suburbs in the Japanese context, via comparisons with case studies in Western cities. A case study was then conducted in the suburbs of Gifu to provide a clear impression of older adults’ daily lives and their perceived barriers in aging and shrinking suburbs in Japan. Finally, we discussed challenges involved in enabling aging-in-place initiatives whose major goal is to provide residential environments in which older adults can maintain continuous residency in their attached homes and neighborhoods in Japanese cities. The case study revealed that many older adults wished to continue living in their homes and neighborhoods. Diversification of accessible support in families and modification of interrelationships among family, housing, and welfare can contribute to adjustments in later life. Systems to support mobility after ceasing driving should be examined in more detail, because older adults were not satisfied with bus service quality, resulting in individuals postponing the decision to cease driving. To enable aging-in-place initiatives in Japan, cooperation among different ministries in national government and divisions at the municipal level is necessary.

Food access is key to understanding the elderly’s shopping environment. Usually, food access is simply calculated based on the distance between an elderly person’s home and his/her nearest fresh food store. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has used this approach to make food access maps throughout Japan. However, these maps do not account for the different food products that are available at different stores.<br /> The purpose of this study was to develop new food access maps using food availability rates for healthy eating indicator shopping basket (HEISB). First, we developed three types of HEISB: fresh food (with 33 items), processed food (with 49 items), and ready to eat meals (with three items). The types of food retailers we examined were supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores, discount stores, and mobile sales wagons, each of which was located in our study area. Second, we developed three new types of food access maps using the availability of food in these store types to supply the<br /> three types of HEISB.<br /> Food availability for the three HEISB types differed dramatically by store type. For fresh foods, all supermarkets and mobile sales wagons showed high availability, some convenience stores had middle levels of availability, and the availability at other store types was quite low. However, with respect to processed foods, many stores showed high degrees of availability, including supermarkets, convenience stores, and drug stores. For ready to eat meals, most stores showed more than 80% availability of the required food items.<br /> Recently, elderly Japanese citizens have greatly increased their consumption of processed foods and ready to eat meals. Thus, these new food access maps will give us a more accurate representation of the elderly’s food shopping environment.

This study used “commercial accumulation statistics” derived from micro geodata to analyze and examine how commercial and service industries have accumulated within the basic planning area of central district revitalization basic plans. The results showed that local governments with smaller population sizes tend to have higher concentrations of commercial and service industries within the basic planning area. Additionally, the conditions of accumulation differ depending on the type of industry: where higher-level industries tend to accumulate, the proportion of those used on a daily basis is lower. Moreover, the composition of industries in the basic planning area varies by region, can be categorized into groups, is related to the population size of municipalities, and has unique characteristics based on geographical distribution.

From the results of the “2014 Census of Commerce” released in December 2015, we can grasp a commercial trend in Japan for the first time in seven years since the release of the results of the “2007 Census of Commerce” in November 2008. The reason for this situation is the establishment and conduct of “Economic Census” in 2012. This paper summarizes the changes in and uses of Census of Commerce by conducting the Economic Census. Conducting a census based on the actual condition can enable us to understand and analyze the new business conditions in Japan. However, we have to be careful with a chronological comparison of the data because methods and objectives have changed over time.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that have disrupted the healthy eating behaviors of the elderly. We supposed that there were two main factors, which were inadequate access to food and weak ties with family and the local community. In the local city that was composed of urban and rural area, these two factors were expected to cause the elderly residents a poor nutritional condition. An empirical study was conducted in City A that is located in the northern part of Tokyo metropolitan area. Logistic regression analyses were adopted. The dependent variable was “dietary diversity score”, and independent variables were “sex”, “age”, “income”, “family members living together”, “need of assistance”, “spending daytime alone”, “eating a meal with someone”, “the distance to supermarkets”, and “the frequency of participation in some hobby-related groups”. The results of logistic regression analyses showed that the dietary diversity scores of the elderly who lived in the area far from the supermarket were lower. Although controlling this effect, “the frequency of participation in some hobby-related groups” was statistically significant. These results suggested that inadequate access to food and weak ties with family and the local community have disrupted the healthy eating behaviors of the elderly.

The purposes of this study are to map residential areas of elderly people at high risk of undernutrition (food desert areas), and to assess mobile sales wagons as a form of support for disadvantaged shoppers. The research methods are as follows: (1) prepare a map that shows high-density areas of elderly people who suffer from poor nutrition; (2) compare the locations of undernourished elderly people in relation to stations where mobile sales wagons stop; and, (3) assess the efficiency of mobile sales wagon support by comparing these locations, and suggest improvements. The findings of this research are as follows. (1) There are long distances between the locations of poor food access areas and high-density areas of undernourished elderly people. Local communities of people with limited access to shopping facilities are mainly located in suburban agricultural areas, whereas residential areas of undernourished elderly people are located in suburban agricultural areas and city centers. (2) Wagon stations are mainly located in residential areas of relatively poor food access areas; there are no stations in city centers. (3) The customer ratio of sales wagons tends to be higher in areas where many low-functioning independent elderly people live, and in areas where many economically poor seniors and those isolated from family members dwell.

The purposes of this study are to improve the food deserts map based on food accessibility and social capital. The study area is the city center of City A, Kanto district, Japan. An estimated 49 percent of elderly residents in a local city are in poor nutritional condition. Our analyses indicate that a decrease in social capital is the main factor that leads to a higher population of nutritionally depleted elderly in the inner city area, and inadequate access to food has the greatest effect on the outer edges of the city center. Previously, food desert issues were thought to be a social problem in rural areas and in local cities where small neighborhood shopping strips had closed, and shopping had thus become physically difficult for people without private cars. However, this study shows that reduced intimacy in people&#039;s relationships also increases the risk of food desert issues.

In this study, we analyzed the factors that have disrupted the healthy eating behaviors of the elderly, where the study area was a city center in Japan. We estimated that 49% of the elderly residents in the study area had a poor nutritional condition. Many of the subjects were concentrated in the central business district of the city. Our multilevel analysis indicated that weak ties with family and the local community and inadequate access to food had strong effects on a high proportion of the nutritionally depleted elderly subjects in this inner city study area. Thus, we can designate this area as a "food desert." Food deserts are based on social exclusion. Previously, the issue of food deserts was considered to be mainly a social problem affecting rural areas and local cities where small neighborhood shopping areas have closed, thereby making shopping physically difficult for people without private cars. However, our study shows that reduced intimacy in people's relationships also increases the risk of food deserts.